Blockchains have been developed to provide a decentralized, distributed database to record electronic transactions. In many cases, blockchains have been used for transactions using a digitally-based, virtual, cryptographic currency. In other cases, a blockchain may be used to simply record data at various times, such as for the confirmation and timestamp of files. In any instance, a blockchain is generally comprised of blocks, where each block includes a header and a series of transaction records. Due to the decentralized nature of blockchains, each block in a blockchain is often formatted with a specific format and subject to a specific file size, to ensure consistency throughout the blockchain.
However, there may be instances where the format of a blockchain may need to be changed. For example, there may be a need to include new data in block headers moving forward or allow for a larger file size for the block headers or transaction records, such as to accommodate for an increase in volume or utility in the blockchain. Traditionally, such a need would necessitate the generation of a brand new blockchain. However, the start of a new blockchain would break the trust and verifiable nature of the blockchain that is developed via the consensus mechanisms and recursive references used therein. In such cases, the old blockchain would have to be recreated in the new blockchain, with each block independently recreated and verified, in order, until every block has been verified. Such a process would be extremely time consuming and computationally intensive, with the blockchain being entirely unavailable for the addition and confirmation of new transactions in the process.
Thus, there is a need for a technological solution to enable the segmentation of a blockchain into multiple segments, where each segment may be subject to different formatting rules, without breaking the trust of the blockchain across the segments. Such a solution may thus solve the problems of existing blockchain networks by allowing for changes in format without necessitating recreation of the entire blockchain.